For city of Winnipeg, building enclosure is worth its salt
“We constructed this facility in the 2001-2002 winter season to reduce the amount of salt that is emitted into the atmosphere or the environment,” says Ken Boyd, support services engineer for the Winnipeg Public Works Department. “It is part of our Salt Management Plan.” Environment Canada asks that any municipality that uses more than 500 tons of salt on an annual basis develops a salt management plan.
The 100- by 220-foot Cover-All building houses approximately 10,000 tons of winter sand, which is treated with 5 percent sodium chloride. The building also houses 1,000 tons of pure salt. A temperature higher than minus 10 C (14 F) requires the use of the salt to de-ice the streets. For temperatures lower than minus 10 C, the salt-sand mixture is used.
“The climate in Winnipeg is such that the majority of winter we have to use more sand than salt,” Boyd explains. “That’s why we have approximately a 10 to 1 ratio of salt housed in our Cover-All building.”
Drive-through system
When shopping around for an enclosure, the city was looking for a structure that would be easy to erect and large enough to accommodate its salt supplies, according to Boyd. The city determined that the Cover-All TITAN would meet its needs.
The clear-span building includes a drive-through system that enables operators to fill their loads under cover from the wind, snow and rain. The building is designed with two doors on either side to allow for efficient loading of materials and stops at the liquid tanks.
“To date, the building has performed very well,” Boyd says. “If we can keep our people out of the elements, it makes a safer work environment and keeps them happy. That’s vital.”
Built for long-term durability, the advanced steel-finishing processes of Cover-All building components ensure that all steel is corrosion-resistant and that tension-membrane covers never will rust even under the harshest conditions.
“The building has stood up very well to a very harsh environment—whether it’s the corrosiveness of the salt materials we store or the cold temperatures of our winters,” Boyd says. “We are very happy with its performance to date.”
Cover-All Building Systems, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, provided this case history.